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Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads

Brevo vs Buffer vs Klaviyo

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Brevo

4.2

From $0

Buffer

4.2

From $6/channel/mo

Best overall

Klaviyo

4.3

From From $20/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Small businesses with a large contact list, or that want email, SMS and WhatsApp in one tool without paying per contact.

Easiest to use

Pick it if: Small businesses, solo founders and creators who want to post regularly across several social networks without paying for an enterprise suite.

Best overall

Pick it if: Online stores that want their email and SMS to run on real customer behaviour.

Overview

AttributeBrevoBufferKlaviyo
In one lineEmail, SMS and WhatsApp marketing in one place, priced by emails sent, not contacts.Schedules posts to every social network from one queue, with an AI writing helper.Email and SMS for online stores, with AI that writes, segments and predicts.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$0$6/channel/moFrom $20/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeBrevoBufferKlaviyo
Overall rating4.24.24.3Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
5.0
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
3.5
5.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
4.0
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.5
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeBrevoBufferKlaviyo
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app– Yes Yes
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension– Yes No
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes– Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images–––
Makes images No No–
Makes video No No No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations No No Yes
Learns your brand or style–– Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 178/ 1710/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeBrevoBufferKlaviyo
Plans

Free

$0

Small lists and trying Brevo out.

Free

Free

A sole trader posting a few times a week.

Free

Free

New stores building their first flows.

Starter

From about $9/mo

Regular newsletters with no daily limit.

EssentialsOur pick

$6/channel/mo, or $5/channel/mo billed yearly

One person running a business's social accounts.

EmailOur pick

From $20/mo

Most stores once they pass 250 contacts.

StandardOur pick

From about $18/mo

Small businesses ready to automate.

Team

$12/channel/mo, or $10/channel/mo billed yearly

Small teams who need approvals.

Email and SMS

From $35/mo

Stores that want text messages in the same flows.

Professional

From about $499/mo

Teams sending high volumes across channels.

Enterprise

Custom

Large brands with many stores or markets.

Enterprise

Custom

Companies with 1 million+ contacts.

Which plan to pickTry Free first. Most small businesses should go straight to Standard, because it removes Brevo's logo and adds automations. Pick your email volume carefully, since that's what you pay for. Yearly billing saves 10%, and prices vary by country.Start on Free to see if you will actually post regularly. Move to Essentials once you need more than 10 posts queued per channel; Team is only worth it when someone else needs to approve posts.Start on Free and build your welcome and abandoned cart flows before you pay anything. Move to Email when you cross 250 contacts, and only add SMS once email is working, because text messages cost extra per send.

Key features

AttributeBrevoBufferKlaviyo
Standout features
  • Email campaigns
  • SMS and WhatsApp
  • Transactional email
  • AI content generator
  • Automations
  • MCP connector
  • Publishing queue
  • AI Assistant
  • Ideas board
  • Comments inbox
  • Analytics
  • Start Page
  • Flows
  • Segments from a description
  • Predictive analytics
  • Email and SMS in one
  • AI writing and campaign builder
  • Customer Agent

Pros and cons

AttributeBrevoBufferKlaviyo
Pros
  • Priced by emails sent, so big lists stay cheap
  • Email, SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email in one tool
  • Free plan includes a CRM
  • Official MCP connector for Claude
  • AI writing from the Starter plan
  • Very easy to learn, with a clean interface
  • Real free plan, and low per-channel prices
  • Covers almost every network, including Threads, Bluesky and Google Business Profile
  • AI Assistant is included on every plan
  • Public API and official MCP server
  • Deepest store integration of any email tool, so targeting runs on real purchase data
  • Flows and segments are quick to set up from templates or a short description
  • Email and SMS live in one place with one set of customer data
  • Predictive analytics tell you who to spend effort on
  • Huge ecosystem of Shopify apps and agencies that already know it
Cons
  • The free plan caps you at 300 emails a day
  • Starter emails keep Brevo's logo unless you pay extra
  • WhatsApp, multiple users and the bigger AI features need Professional
  • SMS credits cost extra on every plan
  • Analytics are basic next to Hootsuite or Sprout Social
  • Per-channel pricing climbs quickly once you manage many accounts
  • Some users report posts occasionally failing to publish or duplicating
  • No social listening, and the inbox is lighter than a full social suite
  • Gets expensive fast as your list grows, and every profile counts toward the bill
  • SMS is a separate cost on top of the plan
  • Email support stops after 60 days on the free plan
  • Overkill for service businesses and plain newsletters

Who each one is for

AttributeBrevoBufferKlaviyo
Best for
  • Large lists you email occasionally
  • Email plus SMS from one tool
  • Order confirmations and other transactional emails
  • Managing campaigns from Claude
  • Scheduling posts across many networks
  • Small teams on a tight budget
  • Turning one post into versions for each network
  • Keeping a regular posting rhythm
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Segments from a description
  • Post-purchase flows
  • SMS campaigns
  • Predicting customer value
You'll find it used by
  • Small business owners
  • Online stores
  • Marketers
  • Developers
  • Agencies
  • Small business owners
  • Solo founders
  • Creators
  • Small marketing teams
  • Non-profits
  • Shopify stores
  • Ecommerce marketers
  • Agencies
  • DTC brands

Questions people ask

Which is better, Brevo, Buffer or Klaviyo?

Klaviyo scores highest overall in our ratings (Brevo 4.2/5, Buffer 4.2/5 and Klaviyo 4.3/5). Brevo is best for large lists you email occasionally and email plus SMS from one tool. Buffer is best for scheduling posts across many networks and small teams on a tight budget. Klaviyo is best for abandoned cart recovery and segments from a description.

Which is cheaper, Brevo, Buffer or Klaviyo?

Brevo: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Buffer: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $6/channel/mo. Klaviyo: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $20/mo.

Which is easier to use, Brevo, Buffer or Klaviyo?

Buffer rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small businesses, solo founders and creators who want to post regularly across several social networks without paying for an enterprise suite.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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